Why do people love to cruise? Certainly it is one of the fastest growing forms of holidays these days. I was on the Grand Princess, touring the fjords of Norway, with my wife and two kids.
The Saturday we left, there were five other cruise ships leaving Southampton. And, these days, we are not talking penny numbers. Our ship had virtually 3,000 passengers and the others in dock would have been looking at similar figures. Indeed with a crew of 1,200 it is a floating town.
(As a side issue Southampton needs to get its act together, as the roads were completely jammed and the signs poor or non-existent) The Princess Line has grown from a small fleet of just three ships in the 1970s to 16 at the moment with two more currently being built.
The original ships were more basic and complaints were made, especially by honeymooners, that the rooms only contained single beds.
After a couple of years a team of carpenters was hired to literally nail some of the beds together.
So is this the attraction, or maybe the easy way of travelling and sight-seeing? I asked Roger Bilton, the captain of the Grand Princess. Roger said: “This may at first seem surprising but one of the big selling points is the value for money.
“From around £1,000, a couple can have a week’s holiday where all they have to buy is their alcohol.
“We take care of the room, all the food, all the entertainment and all the travelling for that price.
“Second it is stress free, especially when compared these days with flying. In fact we are finding many more people would rather embark from their country and sail an extra few days than fly-cruise.
“It is relaxed and people can go from their room to the restaurant, the casino, then a show and a late night bar and need only travel a few hundred yards in a completely safe environment.
“All our facilities have wheelchair access, which gives us great appeal to those with disabilities. So, as an all-round package it is hard to beat.”
One advantage the present Mrs Lowe was happy about was that there are no luggage restrictions. A fair number of the world’s largest shoe collection, after Imelda Marcos, made the trip.
One problem is making sure you do not eat too much.
I then checked out the bridge, especially as we were travelling towards iceberg territory, although not very likely in July.
As you might expect, the bridge is mainly electronic these days. There are two lookouts, though, with binoculars, to back up all the high-tech. And as the ship takes about a mile to stop, that is probably a good idea, especially as the rules of the sea still means the cruise liner has to give way to sail.
So in theory it all sounds pretty marvellous.
STEVE LOWE
Read next week to see if the reality matches the theory and on the joys and beauties of Norway.
